If you follow animal welfare pages to any extent, you have undoubtedly heard the news – President Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) into law on Monday afternoon. Before reaching the President’s desk, Congress unanimously passed the bill which makes extreme acts of animal cruelty a felony.
The new law impacts “any person to intentionally engage in animal crushing if the animals or animal crushing is in, substantially affects, or uses a means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce.”
Specifically, the “Pact Act” addresses several acts of cruelty including intentional acts of crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating and impaling animals which expands the 2010 law that made “animal crushing” videos illegal. Current law prohibits animal fighting and criminalizes those who make and sell videos demonstrating animal cruelty.
Both law enforcement agencies, including the National Sheriff’s Association and the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed the bill citing the connection between animal cruelty and violence against people. The law, however would not interfere on the local level of animal cruelty laws and is limited to interstate commerce and federal property.
The law does not apply to anyone who slaughters animals for food or to those who hunt, trap and fish.
Offenders would face felony charges, with fines and up to seven years in prison.
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THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP AND EVERONE WHO WORKED
SO HARD TO GET THIS DONE! IT IS WAY WAY OVERDUE!
NOW LET’S WORK EVEN HARDER TO STOP ANIMAL CRUELTY WORLDWIDE!